The Truth Hurts
by JustJustine014
Summary: Set after 4x11, Kara struggles to accept the after effects of J'onn's memory wipe on Alex. With both sisters getting further and further from each other, a tragic case brings Alex closer to the truth.
1. Chapter 1

It had been weeks since J'onn performed the memory wipe and weeks since Kara felt like things were normal. Though memory wipe hadn't changed anything between the Danvers sister too much, Kara could still feel the shift. Kara knew Alex loved her, but there was always that little something missing. It was immediately proven in their disconnect during their last game night. The connections forged from knowing Kara's alien identity was gone and gone were a cornerstone of Alex's true childhood. The childhood that made her the amazing woman she was today. There was always a little piece of her sister missing and a piece of herself that she had to conceal as well. She knew she always had her friends, but all she wanted was the one who mattered the most to her: her sister.

With Colonel Hayley on the DEO's tail after the works of a recent assassin, Alex had also gotten busier and busier. Sure they were able to squeeze in a couple of game nights, but what Kara missed the most was their sister nights. The one time where they could unravel and talk about anything and everything. It had been weeks since they had a proper one, forcing Kara to submerge herself into her own work and thoughts. She missed her sister now more than ever.

"Kara, what were you thinking?" Alex stormed into her sister's apartment without even knocking, breaking Kara from her thoughts. "You weren't supposed to release that article until after we caught the assassin."

"Well hello to you too." Kara replied sarcastically. She was surprised to see her sister here. It had been awhile since they've met up.

"I'm serious Kara."

"And I am too." she pat the spot next to her, signaling for Alex to sit. With a deep sigh, Alex moved towards her sister and plopped onto the couch. "Alex, if there is a crazy assassin killing aliens, the people need to know. I know you've been busy trying to catch him, but people need to know who and what to look out for."

"But…"

Kara shook her head. "If I wait for you and the DEO to catch the assassin, more people could die. You've been trying to catch this guy for weeks and yet he's still out there. More people could die because they weren't aware of it in the first place. Liam Hawkleigh always had a habit of staking out his target's favorite place to pass time. Now that the people this and who to look for, I'm sure that they'll be more aware and take cautionary steps. Steps that could save their lives."

"But now that you released both his name and photo, there's a good chance he's going to go after you too. It doesn't matter if someone put a bounty on your name. Exposing him is a personal matter that he will deal with himself." Alex looked at Kara worriedly. "I know that you want to help people, but this guy is a trained professional. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"You don't have to worry. I can protect myself." Kara said, something Alex didn't seem to pick up. Every fiber in her body wanted to assure he sister that she would be fine. Bullets bounced off her, fire doesn't faze her, and she was immune to normal poisons. Nothing would be able to hurt her. But Alex didn't know that. Well, at least not anymore.

"I don't think the pepper spray in your purse counts." Alex frowned.

"And what about you?" Kara questioned back. "What if he decides to go after you? After all, you are the one who's leading the manhunt on him. With Supergirl no longer working with the DEO, no one is looking after you.

Alex's frown deepened. "I don't need Supergirl to protect me. She's done plenty for both me and the DEO, but I am fully capable of protecting myself. Hell, I had to successfully take down a Martian before I could even go out on the field."

"I know you're more than capable, but it was nice knowing that someone always had your back."

"I have a team for that. Plus... I can't help but agree with Hayley a bit."

"What do you mean?" Kara's heart sunk. Her sister agreed with Hayley's views? Had the memory wipe really changed her sister's thoughts about Supergirl that much?

"Well, we don't know much about Supergirl."

"She saves people." Kara countered. "She saved you."

"And I will forever be grateful, but we barely know her. We don't know what she's like behind the cape. She's never been open about that side of her life. How can I trust someone who doesn't trust us?"

"So you agree that Supergirl should have revealed her identity?"

"I think that she should at least trust me. I mean, I've proven to her before that I would always have her back." Alex replied. "But just because I worked with her doesn't mean I always liked it. She can be pretty stubborn when it comes to what she wants."

"What do you mean?" Kara was almost afraid to ask.

"Her no kill attitude could be the very reason why someone gets killed." Alex pointed out. "The bad guys won't hesitate to use dirty methods or lethal force. We have to be ready to take their life before they take ours or hurt anyone else."

"But what if you can save them? Just like how Supergirl stopped the robbery during the earthquake a few years ago."

"Sometimes there are just bad people and not all of us are bulletproof like Supergirl." Alex shrugged her shoulders. "It takes one shot to kill us, Kara. A second of hesitation can get us killed and if she's too vain to see that, then maybe it's good that the DEO doesn't work with her anymore.."

Kara grimaced and looked at her sister sadly, no longer knowing what to say. Taking a part of her sister's memory seemed to change her a lot more than she thought. Her sister was still an amazing person who just wants to do the right thing, but it seemed like she lacked the empathy and compassion she once had.

For her sister's protection she couldn't reveal her identity. But Supergirl was a part of herself. Knowing that Alex disapproved a part of her crushed Kara. Weeks ago, Alex would have stood up for Supergirl, but now she was left with this. All because Alex didn't know she was Supergirl. And even though Alex was right there next to it, it felt like they were light years apart.

Seeing that her sister was deeply upset, Alex grabbed Kara's hand gently. "Am I missing something, Kara? I know you and Supergirl are kind of close, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

"No," Kara lied, brushing off Alex's hand gently. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. Her heart couldn't take it. "Nothing to do with Supergirl. I just wanted to help save lives by releasing the article."

"And you're so amazing for that, but you understand why I'm worried, right?" Alex asked, completely oblivious to the lie.

"Because I'm just a reporter?"

"Because you're my sister and I love you."

Hearing these words perked up Kara a bit. It was something she missed hearing. She released a small sigh and turned to her sister. "Sorry, I didn't mean to seem so upset. I just miss you."

"I'm sorry for being so busy lately. I really miss you too." Alex pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Maybe we can catch up over breakfast tomorrow morning?" Kara asked.

"Noonan's? My treat?"

"Six am?"

"Sounds perfect." Alex smiled and began to pack her stuff. Knowing what this meant, Kara got up and walked her sister to the door. "You know, I'm really glad that we were able to talk this out. I love how we're able to be open with each other.

"Y-yeah, always." Kara smiled halfheartedly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, Alex walked out of Kara's apartment. Once the door closed, Kara used her super hearing to make sure that her sister had left. When she was sure that Alex had gotten to her car safely, she slid down the door slowly and sunk to her knees. A single tear had escaped and before she knew it, she began to sob.

Her sister wasn't the same and she didn't know what to do. It hurt. It hurt so much.

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**A/N:** Leave a review if you're liking this so far and thanks for reading! 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for all the reviews! Since I can't reply to the guest reviews through PM, I will reply to them here.

csiaddictfan87 - Thank you for your review and I'm glad you're enjoying! As you can see the second chapter is released today lol. And to answer your other question, this fic is going to be short, probably four or five chapters?

K - Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying it so far!

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Not wanting to bring the mood down, Kara promised herself to perk up. She was finally getting some sister time and despite the circumstances, she knew that she couldn't change anything right now. Kara didn't know if the memory wipe was possible to overcome and asking J'onn to piece back Alex's memories wasn't an option either. She couldn't bring herself to go against her sister's wishes.

As much as she wanted her sister back, there was also a chance that Hayley could bring back the Truth Seeker too. They would have to go through all of this again and there was no way Kara could live through this a second time. The lies, the loneliness, it was too much.

So Kara made sure to make the most of what she had now. She could deal with the pain later. Right now, the two things she loved the most were all in one place. Her sister… and food!

"I'll never understand how you can eat this much and not get fat." Alex said as she struggled to carry both the drinks and food without spilling either.

"I don't question it," Kara chuckled. She got up from her seat and took the drinks from her sister. "I just enjoy it."

Both girls found an empty table and laid their breakfast out. Alex grabbed her coffee and muffin while Kara debated internally on what to eat first. The muffin? Crullers? Donuts?

With a smile, Kara grabbed one of the crullers and stuffed it into her mouth happily. She took a sip of her latte and moaned in pleasure. "You remembered my latte order? You're the best!"

"The best for the best." Alex smiled and so did Kara. Her sister may not have remembered her favorite movie but she still knew some things. Maybe all was not lost.

"So how's work been?" Kara asked. Alex made an unpleasant face.

"Though I agree with some of Hayley's viewpoints, it doesn't take away from the fact that she's a complete control freak! Ever since she showed up, it's been either her way or the highway!"

"Yikes, that's rough."

"And not to mention that she seems to have her own agenda. The DEO's job is to monitor and protect both aliens and humans."

"Right." Kara nodded in agreement.

"Hayley, however, seems to focus on the latter a bit more. It's not right to prioritize a human's life over an alien. They both deserve a fair chance for both protection and justice."

A smile etched onto Kara's face hearing this. Her sister wasn't turning into a heartless monster after all. Sure some viewpoints had changed, but Kara was sure that her Alex was still in there. She could work with that.

"How about the Hawkleigh investigation?"

"Still nothing." Alex sighed. "It's like he's a ghost. He disappears from the grid and reappears after he makes his move. Just when we think we've got him, he slips past our fingers and disappears again."

"Well good thing the DEO has its best director on the case."

"I think J'onn would disagree."

"What can I say," Kara shrugged her shoulders. "I'm biased."

"Isn't that bad for reporters?" Alex teased.

"Hey, don't twist my words!" Kara pouted jokingly. Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"And how about you?" Alex asked as the laugh died down. "How have you been?"

This was the question Kara both looked forward to and dreaded. There was so much she wanted to tell her sister but also so much that she couldn't. As much as she wanted to let her emotions spill out, she couldn't. So she told her what she could.

She spoke about work, her recent articles, and even a bit about her mentee, Nia Nal. Before she knew it, it was almost time for work and the two headed off. Alex checked the time on her watch.

"I still have a bit of time before I need to head to the DEO. Want me to walk you to work?"

"Sounds perfect." Kara's face lit up in excitement. They continued their conversations down the street but a familiar sound caught Kara's attention. She heard a harsh metallic click in the distance. With her xray vision, she scanned the people around her, but no one was carrying a weapon. Maybe she was just imagining things?

But then she heard the click again. As if someone just loaded a gun.

Honing in on her hearing, she focused on where the sound came from and looked around suspiciously.

Noticing Kara's unresponsiveness, Alex paused and gently grabbed her sister's arm. "Are you okay?"

"Something's not right." Kara said.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked confused. She looked around the crowd of people and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Are you feeling okay?"

It was at that moment when Kara caught the sight of a gleam on top of a skyscraper. She knew what came next. A shot was fired and Kara watched the bullet dive straight towards her sister in slow motion. Quickly assessing the situation, she placed herself in front of a confused Alex.

There was no way that she could catch the bullet in front of all these people, but at least the bullet would bounce right off of her. She could then get her sister to safety and deal with the shooter later.

Oh how wrong she was.

To her surprise, the bullet ripped into her torso and forced her to take a step back. With shaky hands, she applied pressure to the wound before falling to her knees. A wave of nausea soon followed. She recognized this pain. Kryptonite.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Alex caught her sister as she fell to the ground.

"Sn-sniper…run…" Kara could barely manage to get the words out.

Shaking her head, Alex quickly dragged her sister behind a parked car on the side of the street. She placed her hands over the wound and yelled. "Somebody call 911!"

"No," Kara weakly grabbed her sister's arm with her bloodied hand. "No hospital."

"Kara, you need help." Alex said with a panicked tone. She looked around for another potential attack, but when she looked back down, she saw her sister's eyes closing. With a crowd of people surrounding them, Alex determined they were safe for now and focused on Kara. She lightly tapped her cheek, hoping that it would help.

"Mmm-m awake." Kara mumbled. It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open, but she knew she couldn't go to a hospital. The moment they took out the bullet, her wounds would heal and everyone would know her secret. Going to a hospital was not an option.

But the pain and exhaustion was getting harder and harder to fight. Before Kara knew it, her world faded into black.

"Stay with me Kara!" It was no use. Her sister's eyes were closed and she was left to wait for help. Minutes seemed like hours as time continued to pass. Time she didn't think her sister had.

After an excruciating wait, an ambulance finally arrived. Two paramedics rushed out and quickly assessed the situation. They secured Kara onto a stretcher and placed her inside the ambulance while another paramedic came to her. They looked at Alex's bloodied clothes worriedly.

"Are you hurt somewhere specifically ma'am?" One of the paramedics asked.

"No, I'm fine. It's not my blood." Alex replied quickly. She pointed to where her sister was being transported to. "Can I go with her?"

"Do you know her?"

"She's my sister!" Alex proclaimed. With a nod of approval from the paramedic, Alex hopped into the ambulance and rode with them to the hospital. Looking to her sister who was unhealthily pale, Alex reached over and gently held her hand in hopes of giving Kara some sort of comfort.

Alex could only pray that her sister would be okay.

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**A/N:** Thank you everyone for all the follows, favorites, and reviews! Let me know what your thoughts are so far and if you're liking it. Reviews really help motivate me and lets me know if I should continue writing, so please leave one! See ya next chapter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Guest 1 - Glad you're enjoying! Thanks for the review!

Guest 2 - Good predictions! Guess you'll see soon which will be the true outcome haha

K - Thanks for the review!

csiaddictfan87 - I'm really happy you're liking it! Makes me glad to hear from the readers. Sorry I can't make it longer, but as you can see, my post schedule is very sporadic, so I typically like to keep things short. The last chapter ended in a cliffhanger but maybe this chapter will help things move forward a bit.

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Doors flew open as about half a dozen doctors rushed Kara into the surgery room. Alex attempted to follow her but one of the doctors stopped her before she could.

"I'm a doctor, I can help." Alex said desperately.

"If you are, then you know you can't." The doctor shook his head sadly. He placed a comforting hand on Alex's shoulders. "Go home, clean up, and get some rest. We'll do the best we can."

And with that, the doctor disappeared behind the surgery doors and Alex was left in the middle of the hospital halls by herself. Running a shaky hand through her hair, she sunk into a chair. She began to think of how badly she had failed her sister. It was her job to protect her. For more than a decade, she had dedicated her life to protecting others, yet she failed to protect the one who was closest to her.

She should've been the one to take the bullet, not Kara. She was the trained government agent. Kara was just a reporter. As Alex began to recount all the things she should have done, she remembered what Kara had said.

_Sniper._

There was only one person in mind that would fit the description and motive. She clutched her fists in frustration. How did she not see it? Hell, she was just talking to Kara about this just last night.

Liam Hawkleigh had targeted them and they walked straight into his trap.

Without saying anything, Alex stormed out of the hospital doors only to run into a familiar figure.

"J'onn?" Alex questioned. She paused for a second. "What're you doing here?"

"I heard Kara was hurt." He pulled Alex in for a comforting hug. "How's our girl?"

"She…she was so pale." Alex sighed. "The doctors said that they'll do their best, but I know doctor talk. Just because they're going to do their best doesn't mean it'll save her."

"What exactly happened?" J'onn asked.

"Seems like Liam Hawkleigh made a target out of me."

"The sniper from Kara's article?"

Alex nodded her head. She clenched her fists as she began to recall the recent events. "He knows that I'm after him and tried to take me out, but then Kara stepped in front of me and took the shot instead."

J'onn looked at her confused. "She was shot? Are you sure?"

"What do you mean _am I sure_? J'onn, I had to watch my little sister almost bleed to death when it should have been me!" Alex pulled away and pointed to the room Kara was in. "She is in there because of me!"

J'onn understood Alex's frustration, but something wasn't adding up. Under normal circumstances, there was no way that Kara would get hurt by such a mere bullet. She was literally called the Girl of Steel.

Unless there was another factor.

_Kryptonite._

That was panic began to set in for the Martian. The doctors wouldn't know what they were getting themselves into. There was no way they could properly treat a Kryptonian and there was no way he was going to let Kara's identity be revealed to the world.

But he couldn't do it by himself. He looked to Alex and it was at that moment he realized she was gone. He saw her walking towards the exit and rushed to grab her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"To catch the son of a bitch who thought they could get away with shooting my little sister."

"I need your help."

"Now isn't a good time if you've noticed." Alex continued to pull away. When she saw that he wasn't letting go, she turned around and looked him in the eye. "Kara won't be safe until Hawkleigh is behind bars."

"If you want to save Kara, then you'll agree to help me." J'onn reasoned.

"What?" Alex stopped pulling and looked at him in confusion. "She's already in surgery. I can't help with that so the next best thing to do is protect her."

"You don't understand." J'onn sighed. "But I need you to trust me. If you want to help protect Kara, then you need to do exactly what I say. I'll explain later."

Alex looked at Kara's door and then back to J'onn. With a deep sigh, she nodded her head. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

Lena Luthor was working on her latest project when a gust of wind interrupted her from her thoughts. Thinking that it was Supergirl wanting to talk, she sighed and made her way towards the balcony, but what she saw wasn't what she expected.

Instead of the Girl of Steel, Lena found herself staring at Alex, a Martian, and her bloodied best friend.

"Oh my god."

"We don't have much time." J'onn brought Kara in.

"What happened?" Lena asked. She looked over her friend and saw that Kara's breath was shallow. Beads of sweat covered her face and she could feel the heat radiating from her.

"She was shot." Alex said wondering why they had brought Kara to Lena.

"Kryptonite?" Lena questioned as she began to examine the wound.

"Kryptonite?" Alex asked.

"You know?" J'onn looked at Lena questionably.

"She doesn't?" Lena gave a pointed look towards Alex.

"Not anymore." J'onn said sadly.

Lena nodded. "We can talk about this later, but right now, we need to bring her to the lab."

"The lab?" Alex questioned.

"Where is it?" J'onn asked.

"Two floors down." Lena said, already leading the way. However, she was stopped by a gun aimed right to her face.

"Alex, put the gun down." J'onn carefully said.

"Not until someone tells me what's going on!" Alex raised her voice. "First you ask me to help you kidnap Kara out of a hospital and now we're talking about putting my little sister into a lab? You told me that you would explain things to me later, it's later J'onn."

"Alex…"

"What is going on?" Alex yelled. Nothing they said made sense. Her trust in her friends was wavering and she was beginning to think that she made a mistake.

Seeing J'onns hesitance, Lena took it upon herself to speak to Alex.

"You sister is-"

"No," J'onn cut her off. He pulled Lena off to the side and whispered. "You can't tell her. What I did closed off several memories and created new ones. If you tell her the truth like this, it could drive her to insanity."

"So is someone going to tell me what's going on?" J'onn and Lena looked at Alex who continued to point her weapon at them.

Lena shook her head and stood defiantly. "We both know you're not going to pull that trigger, not minding the fact that there is already a bullet in your sister's torso. It's making her sick and the longer we argue, the less of a chance Kara will have to live. You either let us go or she dies."

Not knowing what to do, Alex put her gun down and let them pass. There was no way she was going to get answers like this. A wave of shame flooded over her, but things still didn't add up. Why would J'onn bring Kara to Lena? What could she do that a hospital couldn't? And for weeks, why did she feel so damn off?

As Alex began to think about it more, she could feel a headache rising as flashes of memories she didn't recognize began to appear. Shaking her head, Alex made her way to the door, but instead of going to Lena's lab, she exited L-Corp and went to seek answers of her own.

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**A/N: **Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! Like I mentioned a bit before, I know my posting schedule is all sorts of everywhere, BUT I'm gonna try my best to post a chapter each week. Maybe if I get to 10 reviews this chapter, I'll write up and post another one in a couple of days, just because I feel like I owe it to you all. I just like to know if you guys are still interested and if we can somehow get to that number, I promise to post another chapter by Thursday.

See ya next chapter! :)


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